Delusion can get the better of us sometimes. According to a survey, almost half of the men involved think they could land a passenger plane.
The survey, which was published in January 2023, revealed that one-third of Americans think they could safely land a passenger aircraft with air traffic control’s guidance. When looking at male respondents, the confidence level rose to around 50 percent.
While there have been stories of civilians landing planes, they tend to take place in small, simple aircraft. Experts say that flying a much bigger and heavier commercial jet is completely different, with takeoffs and landings as the most difficult tasks pilots manually perform.
To land successfully, a pilot must keep an appropriate speed while also managing gear and flap configuration, adhering to air traffic regulations, communicating with air traffic control and completing numerous paper and digital checklists.
Pilots spend many years learning the ins and outs of the cockpit, as well as aerodynamics, air law and flight rules, meteorology, human factors, navigation, aircraft systems, and performance and flight planning. They also need to spend time learning about the specific aircraft they will be flying.
Becoming a commercial pilot starts with a recreational licence, followed by a private licence, and ultimately ends with a commercial licence, which allows them to fly professionally. After years of experience, they are finally able to transition to flying a commercial aircraft.
So if you’ve never even learned the basics of flying to any degree, your chances of successfully landing a passenger aircraft even with air traffic control’s help are pretty slim.
Source: https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2023/01/02/fd798/3